Tonight's episode of Bones

[fenchurch]

What? Just... what?

I think I will stand by my contention that the writers from FOX were seriously dropping acid during the strike. The whole episode was weird... oddly paced with all sorts of things just flying out of nowhere and not really fitting with previous episodes, starting with the big one that Booth got shot fairly low on the shoulder and was apparently feeling well enough to duke it out with someone at his own "funeral" a very short time later. Sure, he had a little patch over the spot where he'd been shot, but... yeah. Attention writers: It's called willful suspension of disbelief, and you're already not making it easy.

The thing is, I actually could have bought into the idea that Zack was the Apprentice if they had ever bothered to sell it to me, for all the reasons the other characters mentioned. Instead, they decided to just throw up a billboard with a short summary of the backstory they should have been showing, spelling everything explicitly out for us, as if that would be good enough. Instead, it just made everything that much more surreal and weird... to the point that the closing credits seemed almost jarring, because I was pretty much assuming it had to be a dream, based on the whacked out quality of the whole thing.

All I can think is that they ran out of time due to the strike, but really... that's not much of an excuse. If they'd really planned on making it be Zack all along, then they could have done some of this build up before now.

If this really is all supposed to be real... well, I'm not sure I'll end up watching much of the show next year. Yeah, I like all of the characters, but that's just it. I liked ALL of the characters, including Zack. I liked how they all interact and Zack was possibly the most fun of the whole group. :-( The show will be starting up next season on probation... and I'll be watching it rather cautiously. Which is really not the way you should feel when going into Summer hiatus for a favorite show.

In other news, House was still a bit cracktastic, but it was marvelous crack.

Comments

[agilebrit.livejournal.com]

The Bones ep was surreal. I mean, there's jumping the shark, and there's merrily hopscotching over schools of hammerheads.

Seriously, if we don't get into next season with Booth waking up from a coma and going "Whoa, BAD dream," I'm going to be very put out. Because "it was all a dream" is a lame plot device, but this was worse. I get that we missed out on something like seven eps because of the strike, but they could have continued the Gormagon storyline into next season and sold the Zack thing better than they did. It felt slapped together, rushed, and out of character.

Bad writers. No cookie. I've been ranting all over LJ about this. GAH.

[fenderlove.livejournal.com]

Yeah, this episode was weird, but I got jolted out of caring too much by Booth + nekkid + bathtub + beer hat + Green Lantern comic = for the bleedin' win! And then they took away Zack, and I was sad.

[bendy1.livejournal.com]

Bones! thanks for the reminder *runs*

[redeem147.livejournal.com]

I'll have to check when I get the DVDs, but a few people in the Bones community are saying that in an earlier episode, you can clearly see that Zach is the apprentice in one scene, so that indicates they did have it thought out ahead.

I think it was rushed because of the strike.

Hey, I liked the bathtub scene. I'm shallow.

[electricmonk333.livejournal.com]

Bathtub scene was awesome. Like the rest of you though, I think the Zack bit could have been handled a lot better. He was the least believable of the suggested 3.

[ayinhara.livejournal.com]

I agree about everything said above about the Bones episode. I actually wasn't paying too much attention to the whole Gormogon story. I watch the show for the characters not the plot. Even so, I get annoyed if the plot is too badly handled. The Zack plot was a disaster IMO. The writers have tried to get rid of Zack before and brought him back. This plot resolution finally deep sixes the character. Why did they do that? It was as convincing as the reasons given for Giles leaving BtVS in season 6.

[hlynn.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I totally agree. The writing on Bones has never been stellar, but at least they make the attempt to sell it to you. This was just...weird. Gormogon looks like a guy from central casting? Zack actually killing someone? Booth springing back from a gunshot wound to the chest in a few days? This felt like the end of a bad round robin story.

[sp23.livejournal.com]

I feel the same way you do. Bones is totally on probation. I've really found Booth quite boorish this past season, I can hardly stand Sweets, and now we'll no longer get 'King of the Lab' contests with Zack and Hodgins. This whole season, regardless of the strike, was pretty weak in my opinion, and while I like David okay, I'm not so wild about Booth and Brennen that I'll watch the show regardless of how poorly it's written.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

I'm furious at Bones! I think it was just horribly handled, and the end was a total cheat. Gormagon's dead and Zack's not going to explain what G's reasoning was and how he, of all people, was convinced by the guy. Seriously, I think my least favorite moment was the lame "If you knew how he thought, you'd believe him, too" speech. Tell them, then, you dope. (Or "dopes," because really it's the writers who blew it, not the character.)

[sp23.livejournal.com]

Oh, god, don't bring up Giles leaving BtVS. That was the most poorly written reason - especially after he found out she had been in heaven! Oh, season six - you're the season I love to hate even with some really great episodes.

[ladyforash.livejournal.com]

Couldn't agree with you more. I sat there with my mouth open most of the time going. "WTF? No way... that makes no sense..."

I did like the tub scene though. That was cute and a bit redeeming.

[shakatany.livejournal.com]

The whole episode was weird... oddly paced with all sorts of things just flying out of nowhere and not really fitting with previous episodes, starting with the big one that Booth got shot fairly low on the shoulder and was apparently feeling well enough to duke it out with someone at his own "funeral" a very short time later. Sure, he had a little patch over the spot where he'd been shot, but... yeah. I so agree with you. When Booth dashed out and began to wrestle the villain I thought it was all a Booth-in-intensive-care nightmare with him wrestling death and then it became so prosaic. BTW I certainly hope that Sweet told Parker's mom that Booth was alive so his little boy wouldn't mourn.

I feel Zack was somehow hated by the writers - they sent him to Iraq and everything. The whole Gormogon story arc was lame and forgotten for half the season. Instead of stuffing everything into this last ep they could've at least started in the ep before this instead of the stupid storyline with Booth's stalker. Are we now stuck with the not-so Sweet guy?

Shakatany

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

The entire 'Booth fakes death' storyline was absolutely ridiculous and an insult to the fans. Obviously we know the main character was not going to die so there was no dramatic tension of that sort. It was a psychological experiment on the characters that we witnessed and it fell entirely flat for me. Even now I don't know which character knew he was still alive and which didn't so I'm not sure what I was supposed to glean other than the fact that Bones is very emotionally attached to Booth. Which I already knew. And which Bones knows. And which Booth knows. It was a silly pointless way to advance the Booth/Bones romantic storyline. Sweets is starting to be featured way too prominently IMO. A little of him goes a long way.

The bathtub scene was, however, comedy gold. I quite enjoyed their interactions in that scene.

As for the Gormogon storyline...I think that was severely affected by the writers strike from what I've read. Prior to the strike, they did make some effort to show that Zach, Sweets, and Hodgins could all be involved but I think they entirely lost momentum. Perhaps also in their desire to have a 'shocking twist' they tried to be too coy about who it was so they didn't lay enough groundwork for any of the characters. I figured it would be Zach or Sweets but really thought it would have made more sense for it to be Sweets since he definitely has some creepy aspects to his personality reinforced by the 'experiment' he played on Bones/Booth. Cam made a much more convincing case for it being Sweets than what the writers gave us for Zach! I still don't understand Zach's motivations and suspect this storyline evolved to a heavy-handed morality tale targeted at Bones to wake her up to the fact that one can't live by rationality alone.

Whatever. If my 20-something adult co-worker committed murder in order to provide meat for some nutjob to eat, I'd hardly be viewing him with the tenderness they showed. I guess they are better people than I am but surely one of the group should have been less compassionate to Zach? Also, having Zach turn out to be the Apprentice rather diminished the horror of having his hands blown off (which really was a terrifying scene for me).

Plus, having Zach holding the bag and explaining Gormogon was ridiculous. Exposition much? It took all the creepiness out of the storyline since we never had to confront the Master in any meaningful way.

They should have left that story until next season and resolved Hodgins/Angela's storyline instead. Horrible, horrible ending to what has been a very enjoyable season for the most part for me.

[rowanswhimsy.livejournal.com]

Really, it was embarassingly BAD writing. I can't believe they copped out on Sweets as the villain. It would have be so much more clever to have had him playing Bones/Booth all season. But I think the writers have fallen in love with that character for some reason.

[nutmeg3.livejournal.com]

I know. Sweets is really starting to grate on me, too, and at this point I would have been quite happy for him to be the killer.

[tomte.livejournal.com]

Just sitting here thinking what the '60s and '70s would have been like with widespread access to the Internet, with people kvelling about the latest "Twilight Zone" episode or lamenting the cancellation of "Kolchak." Back in Days of Yore, if you had an interest in a particular show the only way to discuss it was around the water cooler. And I can't help but wonder--does immediate access to viewer feedback tend to make TV writers better or worse now?

[psubrat.livejournal.com]

I actually yelled and threw things (soft items) at my tv screen last night. I was shocked and appalled and just disappointed. My husband thought I was funny, but he was just as stunned as I was that it turned out to be Zack. My first thought was that the writers didn't have time to give us the whole story so they shoved it into one AWFUL episode. And the whole beginning had me wanting to scream. I mean, I knew deep down they'd never get rid of Booth, but good god! Of course, my big bone (hee!) of contention (not my biggest because, well, ZACK!!!!!!!) was Bones and her passive aggressive antics toward Booth because of his decision not to personally tell her he wasn't really dead -- but it was okay for Sweets to make a professional decision?? WTF???

Anyway, that's the second episode this season that has seriously caused me to go WTF??? while making me not want to tune in again. Like you, this show is on probation next year. Grrrr.

[psubrat.livejournal.com]

I swore it was Sweets from the beginning and that they put him in the credits just to screw with our minds. But last night...ugh! I'm so very disappointed.

[jerusha]

Yep. Right there with you. I wasn't that attached to Zack, although I did really like him, so that didn't hurt. Last week's episode was so incredibly good (at least for me), that I'm willing to let a bad one slide.

[valkyrie-kitten.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I go with the "they had to end the season with the timeline that was prearanged, but were like 9 eppisodes short." They should have done the Bones shot as the cliff hanger, and then finised the Gromagon (sp?) next season. All I can think of is that the guy playing Zack didn't sign on for next season? So they had to finish his story arc. It just totally sucked the big time. Total disbelief.